[*BCM*] Just got "pulled over" for running a red on Mass. Ave.

[Jim Leonard]

On Thu, Mar 06, 2008 at 08:15:18PM +0000, rawillis3 at juno.com wrote:
> oh, and the guy was intoxicated.  forgot to mention that.

just because you're a beligerant asshole doesn't mean that you don't have your constitutionally protected rights.  It's still a Terry stop (though the cop might have been able to charge him with public intoxication, but to my knowledge he never tried).  So the point still stands that he was officially arrested for not producing id/giving his name when he had committed no other offense (that the officer had witnessed).  He thought he had a right to not say anything, fifth amendment and all (and clearly many legal experts agreed with him on this count, just not enough of the most important ones).

Another way of looking at this is that the officer created the situation in which he could arrest Hiibel though Hiibel had to play an unwitting part in it.

--jim